Eighteen Angels
by Izi-chan
Summary: The year is 2015; mankind stands on the brink of self destruction. Enter two heros- a dangerous red haired man with a mysterious past and a young woman experiencing life for the first time. A RKNGE crossover.
1. prelude

A.N. Just wanted to point out a couple of things before you read the story...  
  
1) This is a Rurouni Kenshin/NGE crossover, however I don't plan on using the NGE characters any more than necissary. I got a story idea last summer and I shall get no piece of mind 'till I write it out. I think this story will be something different.  
  
2) Couplings... I'm sure you all wanna know who is going to end up with who... well, nothing is set in stone... I'd rather not give anything away. (  
  
3) I DO NOT OWN RUROUNI KENSHIN OR NEON GENESIS EVANGELION. Obviously...  
  
4) I promise promise promise that this story is about the Kenshin-gumi. I know the beginning is all NGE....that will change as the story goes on.  
  
Eighteen Angels  
  
The abrupt klaxon emitted from eva launching chute – 0063 cut through the thick Tokyo-3 air like a sharp knife. Simultaneously, the sharp pinging of one hundred and twenty activation and proximity alarms cut through NERV headquarters as a collective sigh of relief. Fifteen years worth of wait, work, and worry finally came to their culmination point. Today, mankind would discover if he had a chance at a future.  
  
Moving at a speed that matched the urgency of the situation, the two horizontal eva lift doors opened, revealing a shaft that reached all the way into the heart of the hollow geofront beneath. In the blink of an eye, two support pillars shot out of the elevator and the klaxon stopped its angry bleating. Evangelion unit-01, forty meters tall and a majestic purple, soared out of the lift and into the middle of downtown Tokyo-3. Tension audibly dispersed in the command tower of NERV headquarters as the untrained eva pilot took his first steps inside Unit-01. The assurance did not last After only three paces, the armored legs of the eva tilted dangerously, and the robot fall heavily to the ground. Unable to reposition itself after a startling landing directly on its face, the eva became easy prey for its intended angel opponent.  
  
Intrigued by the commotion in the heart of the city, the third angel, Sachiel, allowed his curiosity to overcome caution as he abandoned his attack on the mechanical doorway to eva launching chute – 0054. Upon further investigation, the angel decided that the fallen eva would suffice as an opponent. He easily grabbed the fallen bio-robot, his black claws encircling the eva's neck in a vice like grip.  
  
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!  
  
The metal protrusions out the back of the angel's right hand became a hammer, slamming into the braincase where the paralyzed eva hung, trapped in Sachiel's grip. After the hammer penetrated the brain, a fountain of LCL, the lifeblood of the evangelion, coated nearby buildings in a rain of sticky sweet gore. Two minutes and thirty five seconds after launch, eva unit-01 ceased to function.  
  
*  
  
Fifteen years ago, in the year 2000, mankind had simultaneously seen one of its greatest downfalls and greatest triumphs. The catastrophe known only as second impact ravaged the southern continent of Antarctica leaving only a murky sea of LCL. Although the scientists working under project Gehrin tried to keep most details from the press, the fact that the second angel, Adam, had finally struck earth became common knowledge.  
  
Man found God; God became angry and punished man with the angels. From Adam man created eva and became god.  
  
Secret project E was born. As prophesized in the Dead Sea Scrolls, fifteen more angels were to come. The only creation with the power to stop these titans were the mighty evangelion. Although these forty meter tall beasts contained the perfect combination of biological and electronic components, it lacked the soul it needed to operate. Over several countries, as each eva reached completion, a child born at the time Adam first made his appearance during second impact was selected to act as both pilot and soul for the giant bio robot. And so it came to pass that the angels returned to complete their unfinished quest.  
  
Earlier that September, 2015 day, Tokyo -3 had held its breath as Commander Mann, of Britton, lead UN forces in a head on attack against Sachiel, the third angel. Conventional weapons had no effect against the thirty five meter tall menace due to its impenetrable absolute terror field. Only after a third of the fleet assigned to confront and contain the angel lost operational ability under destructive gangly black arms did Commander Mann authorize the use of the UN's non nuclear N2 mines. Although Sachiel's amazing powers of regeneration allowed it to regrow the twenty eight percent of its body mass lost in the assault, it required time to do so.  
  
Finally understanding the effective protection the monster had, the commander had no choice but to turn the situation over to NERV headquarters- the possessor of two evangelion under the command of one Gendo Ikari. While the third angel regenerated itself, eva unit-01's long cylindrical entry plug was prepared for its pilot. With no previous training of synchronization tests, Ikari's young son Shinji found himself thrust into the heart of the eva beast where he received the powers of a god at his fingertips.  
  
*  
  
For yet to be determined reasons, the bio-mechanical android reactivated, remaining eye aglow with internal fire. Regaining its balance, eva broke free of the angel's grasp and retreated back against a city building. Crouching low against the city street, eva-01 prepared itself for battle. A smart flip in the air and a slight twisting of the main power cable attached to the giant's back brought eva face to face, so to speak, with angel. Ripping open the A-T field that had hindered previous physical attacks, unit-01 finally had the means to cause lasting damage to its adversary.  
  
Baffled by the sudden change of events, NERV personnel could only watch as the young pilot's thought patterns became more and more erratic on the display. They could only hope for the best. After ripping open the bony physical armor on Sachiel's chest, eva started pounding on the exposed red spherical S2 engine that acted as the angel's power source.  
  
At last, with cracking beginning to occur on the red orb, the angel realized the helplessness of its situation. In one final act of desperation, the leviathan leapt up and curled itself into a ball over the single horn protruding from a rounded forehead, over its face, and over its upper torso. Three layers of armor plating protected both eva and pilot from harm as the angel self destructed.  
  
Battle won and over, the only sound heard throughout the city was that of the front portion of the eva's purple horned helmet cracking and hitting the ground after a forty meter fall. The beast slumped over in deactivation as the power was cut from its main cable.  
  
*~*~*  
  
"HEY YOU STUPID ANGEL! YOU'RE GONNA GET PULVERIZED AS SOON AS THE EVANGELION COMES OUT! NOT SO TOUGH NOW, EH?"  
  
The query went unanswered.  
  
Although reckless at times, Yahiko Myoujin was definitely not stupid. He may have decided to ignore the evacuation order, but he made sure to hide out far away atop a business building on the outskirts of the city. A stupid person would not have been able to pick such a desirable hiding spot. Stupidity would more likely than not get a person killed in the Yakuza today, as the young thirteen year old had found out all too early.  
  
A brief pang of regret flowed through Yahiko's body at the thought of Okita, his mentor and pickpocket friend. Although a master at his trade, the fifteen year old never knew when to step down from a fight – or how to switch the safety off a gun.  
  
But that was in the past. Yahiko scoffed. The elder boy's stupidity nearly forced Yahiko out into the open. As it was, he had to move to a different apartment- quite a difficult task with the syndicate breathing down your neck! He didn't particularly like his job– but he was good at it. And with both parents out of his life- mother killed in a house fire and father driven into insanity from grief, the young boy had no choice but to steal to survive. Yahiko was STRONG. There was no way HE would ever go into foster care!  
  
Interrupting his silent revere, the klaxon above eva launching chute – 0063 announced the arrival of unit – 01.  
  
"Holy shit! That thing is HUGE!"  
  
Leaping up from his former crouch, Yahiko found himself drawn to the railed edge of the building to get a better view of the impending fight. Casually brushing his spiky hair back over his head, the boy watched as eva unit-01 fell and succumbed to Sachiel. A bitterness settled in the pit of his stomach- he was not one to sit and let others do the fighting.  
  
"C'MON YOU STUPID EVA!!! HOW HARD CAN IT BE TO WALK?!? AT LEAST THE FIGHTER PLANES BLEW UP PART OF THE ANGEL!"  
  
Scowling, the boy regained his composure as the angel punctured a hole through unit -01's braincase.  
  
In spite of the fiery explosives launched earlier that day, the air remained cool. Grasping his yellow long sleeved shirt close to his body, Yahiko shivered as a brisk breeze blew over his office building. The air had a distinct kinetic feel to it. Unable to stand still any longer, the boy began pacing along the side of the roof.  
  
Something audibly snapped; Yahiko stopped, paralyzed in awe as the eva reactivated.  
  
"...."  
  
Sheer surprise painted Yahiko's features after the battle ended. When he snuck out of the shelter he had been expecting a fight, but nothing could have prepared him for the ferocity of the eva. He stared in astonishment for ten minutes before the sounds of a lift sent him scurrying for cover in a shadowed corner.  
  
*  
  
Three hours later, Yahiko finally escaped the rooftop under the cover of the city's evacuees returning to their apartments. Climbing down the emergency scaffolding, he mentally cursed the world for creating such an ungainly means of escape.  
  
God damn ladders, if there ever was an emergency we'd all kill ourselves climbing down these things. Ahh well, at least I'm not in a hurry. And it'll give me time to imagine the looks on everyone's faces when I tell them what I saw! Bet they all were too chicken to leave the shelters. Heh! Maybe I can lie a little...  
  
Grinning to himself, Yahiko smiled with pride as he reached the bottom of the fire escape. He jumped to the ground and ran off to his apartment.  
  
*  
  
"Oi! Where've you been Little Yahiko! You've missed some good pickings. No one thought to guard their coin purses in the chaos of evacuation! All to busy running around scared."  
  
A devilish grin and baby blue eyes announced the presence of Yutaro, one of Yahiko's closest friends. Although the same age as his roommate and only two inches taller, the young German's very nature had an intimidating air to it, in contrast to the Japanese's great pride. With a pick pocketing skill almost equal to Yahiko's, Yutaro was good at his job. Unlike his Japanese roommate, though, Yutaro was ambitious. He LIKED his work. The thought of laundering money in the underworld and rebelling against the cursed authority invigorated him. He was already busy plotting schemes that would improve his rank in the eyes of the Yakuza.  
  
"Don't call me little!" Yahiko said with a snarl. "We're the same age. Plus, I've been with the syndicate longer than you have."  
  
"Yeah, but you're still two inches shorter than I am. Anyways, that's not what I was referring to when I said 'little'". Yahiko's scowl deepened as he caught the barb of the comment. "So where've you been? The boss'll be upset when he hears you didn't turn a profit."  
  
"While you were hiding in the shelter like a ball-less wimp, I took the opportunity to see the action in the streets."  
  
The German was visibly impressed. "You mean you saw the eva fight? You should have let me come! How'd you manage to sneak out of the shelter with all the security and stuff?"  
  
"Never mind that" Yahiko snapped, face blanching at the memory of an uncomfortable climb through the shelter's air ducts.  
  
"Oh, that reminds me... some blonde babe came to see you 'bout half an hour before you got back." Yutaro commented, cutting off anything else his roommate had thought to add. "I didn't know you had a girlfriend. Have a thing for the older ladies, eh? Well she's certainly hot enough!" Winking at his friend, Yutaro forgot about any pangs of annoyance at being left behind from the action.  
  
Yahiko's insides instantly froze. "I don't have a girlfriend! Did she say her name or anything?" Maybe the boss had already heard about how he didn't steal anything during the evacuation. Or maybe he had been caught sneaking out of the shelter. It was just like the syndicate to throw him off balance like this...  
  
Yutaro didn't seem to notice his roommate's discomposure. "Ritsuko somethin' or other... She looked really eager to see you, if ya know what I mean!" Yahiko's timid laugh implied that he knew all too well what it could mean. The boss didn't take kindly to botched jobs... "Don't worry, she left as soon as I told her you hadn't gotten back yet." Settling down upon on the haggard couch in their shared sitting room, Yutaro nonchalantly leaned back and turned on a small thirteen inch screen television. "Oh yeah, she had an envelope for you; it's on the table over there. Looks kindof important."  
  
Forcing the butterflies in his stomach to stop their waltz, Yahiko kicked off his shoes, shoved an errant school bag to the side of the room, and slowly walked to the kitchen table.  
  
The envelope was the standard eight by eleven business sized issue. Picking it up, Yahiko could tell that the letter consisted of only one single sheet of paper. It seemed like a normal note in most respects; however, in lieu of a postage stamp on the upper right hand corner was a red inked insignia. Half of a fig leaf intersected with the letters NE and RV.  
  
"God's in his heaven, all is right with the world." Yahiko clumsily sounded out the English text, also printed in red ink underneath the strange logo. "What the hell does that mean?"  
  
"Hey, SHUT UP! Yer drowning out the TV."  
  
"You shut up!" Yahiko's confusion prevented him from giving his roommate a more graphic response. Whatever the letter contained, it definitely was not from the syndicate!  
  
Deciding that nothing else could be done, the young teen tore open the envelope.  
  
For your eyes only... 


	2. promenade

Kaoru Kamia awoke at 7:59 A.M. and instantly knew that it would be a bad day. Had she awoken at 7:30 A.M., she could have rolled over, tightened her blanket about her shoulders and gone back to sleep. But some strange twist of fate had caused her to wake up right then. In one minute, the alarm would ring and she would be forced into yet another chaotic day.  
  
Groaning, she pushed the covers aside, jumped out of her trundle bed, and raced to disable the alarm clock before it could ring. It seemed to be a point of honor- if she was already up, Kaoru didn't want to listen to that angry, impersonal noise. Her bedroom was small enough that she easily reached the opposite wall in time to stop the alarm.  
  
Grabbing a blue sweater and a pair of slacks from her small closet, she dressed herself in her small room. A quick stop in her small kitchen provided Kaoru with a piece of toast for breakfast. Then, in her small bathroom she brushed her teeth and pulled back her long, straight-as-a- stick black hair into a ponytail- couldn't have her hair interfering with her work! Finally, she grabbed her backpack from her small sitting room and left for work- late as usual.  
  
Ok. So the apartment was small. Kaoru had been amused when she first saw it that she could hop across from the doorway, totally across the sitting room (devoid of the couch at the time, of course) past her two burner stove in the kitchen, and onto her bed in only five paces. After only a week and a half of habitation in the apartment, she realized that she would spend so little time in her rooms that size became irrelevant. Plus, it was free of rent. As an intern at NERV headquarters, the eighteen year old was entitled to room and board- however small the accommodations might be.  
  
Kaoru grimaced as she stepped off the train at the station that should have allowed her to transfer to the special access train that took government employees directly into the geofront. She had forgotten that her research team had agreed to meet in the field today. Saito-sensei, the group's temporary supervisor, known for his wolf like viciousness, had given specific instructions to meet at the site of the fallen fourth angel, which had just been slain two days earlier. He had told the group the exact location of their temporary field lab, but Kaoru hadn't paid much attention. How difficult could it be to find a sixty meter long fallen monster?  
  
The swath of destruction was easy enough to spot. Following it was another thing. Whenever she managed to get around a particularly nasty pile of debris, security would spot her and demand identification. Every time was the same.  
  
"Excuse me miss?" The officer would usually scowl at Kaoru, thinking that the eighteen year old was far too young to have proper authority to be wandering the streets of the city so carelessly. "This is a restricted area. I'll need to see some identification before I let you continue."  
  
At this point, Kaoru would grit her teeth, smile sweetly and offer her I.D. card to be scanned by the guard. After some fumbling around with the computerized card reader, the security guard would have no other option but to hand the card back to the young woman. "The card cleared; you're free to continue. Have a nice day."  
  
A nice day indeed! The first identification check was expected, the second reasonable. The third I.D. check came as an annoyance. After the fourth, Kaoru was mad. Each episode would cost her five minutes, at least. She was expected to meet her group at 9:00- at 9:40 she was almost ready to turn around and leave. Suppressing a shriek of annoyance at the sight of a group of people in the distance, she brandished her security card and thrust it violently to the first person she came across.  
  
"Ah. Despite the fact that you are obscenely late, there is no need to shove your identification card in my face. Rest assured, I remember who you are, Kaoru." Kaoru flinched- the steely voice could only belong to the wolf himself. Blushing as the anger receded from her vision, Kaoru regarded the man in front of her as they both entered the tent in front of them. Hajime Saito, the Wolf of Mibu, was known for his steely disposition and wit that matched the sharpness of the archaic katana that he wore on his hip in lieu of the '98 derringer most NERV personnel used as protection. As a lab technician in the genetic reconstruction and assessment department, he generally kept to the uniform required to those of his status. Today, because of the extreme circumstances in the field, he sported a dark navy pair of pants with twin satin strips running down each leg. The shirt he chose was a long sleeved tight navy of the same color.  
  
"Your tardiness has forced your comrades to start without you. Grab a lab coat, collect your samples and do try to catch up. Oh, and be prepared to stay an extra hour today to make up for your lateness.  
  
"Hai, sensei." Kaoru replied, she had long since learned not to argue with the wolf.  
  
The field lab had been set up in a large orange canopied tent alongside Samshel, the fallen angel. Kaoru was grateful the angel was due to be removed in three days- given a week and the monster would 'ripen'; emitting putrid air into the Tokyo-3 atmosphere. The lab had a basic setup. Whereas it was nearly impossible to maintain a sterile environment out in the open air, the work done in the field did not require a contained environment. Several tables were set up with supplies for extracting DNA from blood or LCL. All but one of these stations was in use by the four other interns working as Kaoru's research peers. A central table contained a sink for hand washing and several trash receptacles for the various biorefuse that would be discarded. In the corner of the tent sat two steel tables which held identical dissection trays. No one had been able to discover what was to be dissected there. The angel seemed too large to provide small enough organs for the trays.  
  
Tossing her backpack next to the coat rack, Kaoru grabbed a lab coat, donned a pair of latex rubber gloves, and claimed the remaining extraction station.  
  
"Oi Missy! Glad you could make it!"  
  
"Hi Sano!" Kaoru afforded a warm smile to her friend of one week. Relationships in their peer group were still being formed, but as the youngest intern, Kaoru felt a special affinity towards the only other person not yet in his twenties. "So what'd I miss?"  
  
"Looks like you didn't miss much." The brown haired nineteen year old said, glancing down at the LCL stains on Kaoru's slacks.  
  
"Ugh. You decided to walk here? What a filthy girl! You don't approve of such disarray, do you Aoshi?" As the second oldest intern at twenty two years old, Megumi Takani tended to look down upon the 'youngsters' of the group.  
  
Pipettor in hand, Aoshi Shinomori looked up from his work long enough to shrug. At twenty five, Aoshi was the group's only PhD candidate, so he tended to take his studies very seriously.  
  
"Hmph." Megumi too, diverted her attention to the several vials of buffer on the table in front of her.  
  
"Hey babe, why don't you ignore those loosers and let me show you what you're missing!"  
  
Taking a deep breath, Kaoru suppressed the urge to punch Yoita, the intern who would hit on anything with boobs.  
  
"The only thing I'm missing right now from you is your absence."  
  
"Alright, alright!"  
  
A fierce look from Sanosuke prevented the twenty year old from continuing. Brushing aside a strand of hair that had escaped his red headband, he turned back to Kaoru. "So where were you? You get lost or something?"  
  
Kaoru knew her friend was joking but winced as the truth was revealed. "Yeah, something like that."  
  
"You lucked out if all Saito did was ask you to stay an hour later. He's been really off lately."  
  
"Like he was ever normal. He looks like he could really use a cigarette."  
  
Sure enough, Kaoru and Sano watched as their mentor bend down to retrieve a fallen pencil. The material of his shirt shifted, revealing a large square nicotine patch that interrupted a bushy line of hair on the small of his back.  
  
"Oh God!!! I've been scarred for life! No one should have to see that!" In his exasperation, Sano flung his arm before him to hit the table in emphasis. Missing the corner by an inch, he smiled sheepishly as Megumi, who had witnessed the whole ordeal, stifled a giggle from her corner of the room.  
  
"Don't people usually wear those on their arms?" Kaoru was confused. "Never mind. I don't think I want to know the wolf's logic behind that..."  
  
Sneezing twice, Saito looked to the back of the tent. "Show's over. Get back to work."  
  
Pushing aside the glove on her right hand, Kaoru took a small sterile lancet and pierced the skin on her pinky finger. Blood slowly trickled out of the wound into a collection tube; it would later be used as a human control. She set the sample aside and chose eight more tubes. "Oi! Where are the angel samples?"  
  
Surprisingly enough, Aoshi replied. "Check the fridge next to the sink. I retrieved some extra samples before you came. Use them."  
  
"Thanks."  
  
Kaoru found the samples easily enough. She selected eight, and set the rest back in the freezer. Every sample contained LCL from the fallen angel. By examining DNA from various parts of the angel, the interns would check for internal mutation in the angel's genetic code. It was redundant to take quite so many samples, but it would provide plenty of extract for future studies.  
  
Sitting down at her station, Kaoru arranged her supplies before her. Extracting DNA from LCL was similar to extracting DNA from blood. One would filter out the angel's equivalent to plasma and platelets and then add a special buffer to the remnants. This would leave a serum full of uninhibited DNA which would be ready for replication. The whole process could be completed mechanically back at NERV in only twenty minutes. The extreme location of the field lab made such mechanizations impractical, which left the interns manually repeating the process.  
  
Kaoru didn't mind the extra work. Although tedious, it gave her time to think. From her position in the back of her tent, she had the perfect view of Aoshi's broad back and muscled shoulders. He might have the personality of a brick, but he sure had a nice body...  
  
She capped a tube and set it against the vortex machine to shake. It had been a long week of work- and she still had three more to go. All of the interns would do basic work in their first month at NERV. At the end of that period of time, they would each be put into a specific, more permanent position suited to their abilities. Kaoru hoped she would be far away from Saito- his squinted eyes and thin lipped smile gave her the creeps.  
  
Tossing out nine vials of filtrate waste, Kaoru was left with nine tubes of clear extract, neatly aligned in the neon pink rack in front of her. "Oi Saito! Where do you want the samples when we're done?" Finishing only twenty minutes after her comrades, she was ready to go to lunch. If she hurried, she might be able to catch up with the rest of the group before they finished eating...  
  
"Ahhh...Saito-Sensei?" The rustling of the cloth makeshift tent door caused the young intern to look up from her table in time to see her mentor enter the room.  
  
Quickly pocketing a sleek black cell phone, Saito glanced at Kaoru's work. "Make sure your samples are clearly labeled and put them back in the freezer. Do be certain to put your initials on the vials this time- your work is your responsibility. If the samples become contaminated we need to know who is at fault." Abruptly turning, Saito faced away from the lab tables, keeping his hands clasped behind his back. Kaoru blinked in mild surprise. "Tell your comrades that you needn't bother return after lunch. Something urgent came up and I am needed elsewhere." Before Kaoru could respond, he exited the tent, leaving only an uncomfortable stillness behind him.  
  
*  
  
Kaoru stepped out of the tent into the sunlight of a cloudless spring afternoon. Cleaning up in record time after her mentor left, she was more than ready to take the rest of the afternoon off. There was still so much to do! Although she had been living in Tokyo-3 for almost two weeks now, Kaoru still needed to make her apartment feel like home. The cardboard box bookshelves definitely needed to be replaced... Frowning, she turned the corner that would lead her back to the special access train station that would take her home.  
  
"Sano! What are you still doing here?"  
  
Her tall friend was standing on the street corner staring at the bulk of the fallen angel that sat fifty meters behind their orange research tent. Turning around, he greeted her with a sheepish grin and downcast brown eyes. "I...uh...had some stuff I wanted to take care of. I overheard the wolf tell you that we don't need to come back this afternoon, so I figured I might as well wait for you to finish..."  
  
Kaoru found herself briefly hiding a tiny smile with the back of her hand. "C'mon! Let's go catch the train!"  
  
*~*~*  
  
Steely footsteps outside office 27-A-3006 in the heart of NERV headquarters alerted Hajime Saito to the presence of a visitor long before anyone reached the door. Easing back in his black leather office chair, the Wolf of Mibu took a puff on his cigarette and waited. Not one minute later Saito's patience was rewarded by a staccato knocking at the door.  
  
"You may enter." His voice was more of a growl than anything else.  
  
The door opened and in walked a demon in human guise. A black hooded cape couldn't quite hide the thin wiry, albeit short, frame of the man that stood in the doorway. Something in his movements suggested a controlled grace, carefully honed over years of vigilance. His thin lips turned down slightly in distaste as he entered the room. With indifferent amber eyes, the man glanced about the tiny office- checking for possible hidden cameras and escape routes. The slight movement of his head knocked a single lock of red hair out from under his black hood.  
  
"Ahh...So I see it still bleeds." Saito's voice took on a slight air of mockery.  
  
And indeed, a single freshly made cut extended from the base of the man's left eye to just above the left side of his chin.  
  
"It is of no concern to you, Wolf." The man's voice was gravelly, on the verge of becoming menacing.  
  
"Sit down, Battousai, we have much to discuss. The experiment had been deemed a success. A completely untrained pilot was able to not only synchronize with eva unit-01, but also to awaken her! We need only to find the other piece to this puzzle before we can put the Instrumentality Project into effect."  
  
Battousai's voice remained flat; unimpressed. "And what news have you passed on to your superiors?"  
  
"General Fuyutski knows everything he needs to. He entrusted me with the five most likely candidates; we should know who the counterpart is by the end of the allotted month."  
  
"I see."  
  
"I want you to continue your observations of the five under the guise of guarding the compound. Report back to me any unusual behavior and watch for any Signs. But for now, I need to run a few more diagnostic tests. Follow me." Standing abruptly, Saito left the room without a second glance back.  
  
"As you wish." 


End file.
